Despite plenty of media attention and hype, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are technologies still on the outskirts in American classrooms, according to a recent survey by the nonprofit organization Project Tomorrow.

Only five percent of teachers said they are using AR or VR in their classrooms, Project Tomorrow found in its annual Speak Up survey of more than 510,000 K–12 students, parents and educators. This was the same no matter what the size or type of school district, or years of teacher experience.

Higher percentages of high school computer science/technology (11 percent) and science teachers (9 percent) were using AR or VR, according to the survey.

Only 9 percent of students in grades 6 through 8 and 8 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 said they have experienced AR or VR in a classroom setting.

Middle school students seem to be the most excited about AR and VR in the school setting. Among students in grades 6 through 8, 33 percent said they would like to see augmented reality apps in their ultimate school, and 47 percent of those kids said they would like to see virtual reality experiences and hardware in their ultimate school.

However, teachers, principals and parents were more skeptical. Only 12 percent of parents and principals said they want to see AR apps in their ultimate school, while 13 percent of teachers said the same. Seventeen percent of parents said they want to see VR experiences and hardware in their ultimate school, while 23 percent of teachers and 29 percent of principals said they wanted to see VR in the classroom.

Whitepapers

Many educational experts recognize that collaboration is a critical skill for students’ current and future success. Yet, collaboration isn’t necessarily a natural skill. Students need to learn how to work with others. And they need the tools, opportunities and space to collaborate. Here’s what THE Journal learned when it asked educators about instilling collaboration into their classroom practices.
Read more...